The SVFiles
by PepperjackCandy
Summary: Clark Kent becomes Lex Luthor's new partner at the Kansas Bureau of Investigation. Futurefic. Probably preslash.
1. Episode 101

Title: The SV-Files  
Author: PepperjackCandy  
Rating: PG  
Category: AU/Futurefic/Science Fiction/Action/Drama  
Spoilers for: Heat  
  
Disclaimer: I own nothing Smallville-related, or related in any other way to Clark Kent, Superman or any of the various creations of the wonderful folks at DC Comics. The X-Files was created by Chris Carter and belongs to 20th Century Fox and Ten Thirteen Productions.  
  
Feedback: Always welcome, either by e-mail or using the review system at fanfiction.net.   
  
================  
  
2008  
  
Special Agent Alexander Luthor sharpened a pencil and cast it into the air, where it stuck, embedded in the ceiling. He was supposed to be in Wichita, tracking down some sort of bug boy instead of trying to make the Mandelbrot set in Ticonderoga No. 2 pencils in the ceiling of his office.  
  
The right cheek of the butt-print part got an unexpected mole when a man clearing his throat threw off his aim. _Great. My new... partner._ Lex thought uncharitably.  
  
"You look like you just swallowed a bug," the young man in the doorway said.  
  
Lex looked up a long, slim body to a cherubic face that looked more like a Botticelli painting than an investigator for the Kansas Bureau of Investigation. Quelling his sudden attraction to his new partner, Lex stood. "Alexander Luthor. You're...," he glanced back at his desk for the piece of paper he'd written the kid's name on.  
  
"Clark Kent," Clark held out his hand for Lex to shake.  
  
Lex took his hand, then said, brusquely, "Pull up a chair, sit down, tell me a few things about yourself."  
  
Once Clark was seated, he said, "I'm not sure where to begin."  
  
"Age, education, work experience... ."  
  
"Oh. Well, in that order, I'm 25, I just got my master's degree in forensic science from Metropolis University, and in place of a master's thesis, I broke the Baxter case."  
  
Lex's eyebrows shot upwards, "That was you? I'm impressed. My father was... less impressed."   
  
Clark's jaw dropped. "Lionel Luthor's your father? I didn't realize... ."  
  
"Don't worry about it, Kent. My father and I haven't been on very good terms since I chose the glory of this," Lex gestured at the gloomy space that surrounded them, "over a corner office at LuthorCorp Tower."  
  
"Yeah, but still, he's your father."  
  
"Water under the bridge. Speaking of water," Lex reached under his desk, opened a mini-fridge he kept under there, and pulled out a blue bottle of imported water, "Want some?"  
  
"Sure."  
  
Lex passed the bottle to him and reached in again for one for himself.   
  
"This stuff looks expensive."  
  
The phone rang and Lex answered.  
  
"Luthor."  
  
He paused.  
  
"We're on our way."  
  
Lex hung up the phone. "It is expensive. It's the only luxury I have left from my days as a rich boy. Well, that and one other thing, which you'll be seeing on our way to the Northwest Shopping Center."  
  
"What?" Clark asked as they left the office, leaving their bottles on the desk.   
  
Lex grinned. "My Porsche."  
  
Lex called their supervisor as he drove to get more information on the case.   
  
"Why are we here?" Clark asked as they walked towards the crowd gathered outside the Rosenberg's department store.  
  
Lex's eyes were trained on the crowd, trying to size up the situation as he answered, "a hostage situation."  
  
"And they've called us in because..."  
  
"The guy's running on drugs or adrenaline or something. They got a clear shot at him half an hour ago, and he's still going."  
  
"After being shot?"  
  
Lex finally saw where the action was, "Yep."  
  
They flashed their badges to get close to the situation. On a ledge outside the second floor of the department store, a young man with a blood-spattered Rosenberg's name tag held a gun to the head of a man who looked to be around forty.   
  
"That's Leonard Rosenberg. He owns the store." Lex said, indicating the older of the two, "The kid's a college student who works part-time."  
  
Clark looked around and saw a beautiful woman with long, dark hair lurking on the periphery of the crowd. She looked furious.  
  
"Rosenberg's is an unfair employer! Employees get paid less than half what they get paid over at FieldMouse!"  
  
"I keep telling you," Rosenberg began.  
  
"Shut up! I don't want to hear any more of your lies!" Matt shoved Rosenberg away and cocked the gun.  
  
The entire crowd held their breaths for a long moment.  
  
Then, just before sound started again, everything happened at once.  
  
The SWAT team raised their guns.  
  
Matt crumpled to the ground.  
  
Clark saw the dark-haired woman start to walk away.  
  
Clark ran at normal human speed to catch up with her. "Hold it right, there, miss," he said in his best TV-cop-show voice.  
  
She kept running, so he grabbed her upper arm just as one of the policemen said, "Mrs. Rosenberg?"  
  
The focus of the assembled law enforcement officers changed to where Clark held the woman as easily as he could have kept a housefly down by pinning its wing.  
  
The woman's demeanor changed. She looked up at Clark through her eyelashes. "I'm just an innocent bystander, Officer... ."  
  
"Special Agent. Special Agent Kent."  
  
She stepped into his space, her lips parted slightly, "I'd heard that something happened to my husband, and I just, couldn't, stay at home," she sounded breathy, like Marilyn Monroe with asthma.  
  
Clark felt slightly giddy, but the feeling soon passed. "That may be, ma'am, but I think you should come in to the Bureau's offices. Just to answer a few questions."  
  
Mrs. Rosenberg looked flustered. "Whatever you say, Special Agent."  
  
Clark was about to lead her back to Lex's car when one of the EMTs approached. "Mrs. Rosenberg? Is your first name Desiree?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"He's asking for you."  
  
"Leonard?"  
  
"No, ma'am. Mr. Drescher."  
  
_Epilogue_  
  
Clark was hard at work reading the paper when Lex arrived the next morning. Lex once again noticed how attractive his new partner was.   
  
_First, he's your partner. Second, he's your partner. Third, he's **your partner**. He's probably straight, anyway._  
  
"Good work yesterday," he greeted the younger man in a brusque, businesslike tone.  
  
"Thanks."  
  
"They've done some tests. Turns out there's something odd with her biochemistry. She seems to give off pheromones like most people shed dead skin cells."  
  
Lex sat at his desk. "So, why don't you tell me. How did you avoid falling for her like Drescher and Rosenberg?"  
  
Clark thought for a moment before answering, "Probably 'cause I'm gay."  
  
_Great._


	2. Episode 102

Title: The SV-Files, Episode 102  
Author: PepperjackCandy  
Rating: PG  
Category: AU/Futurefic/Science Fiction/Action/Drama  
Spoilers for: Nothing. Honest. :whistling: Well, _The Mothman Prophecies_ a little, I guess.  
  
Disclaimer: I own nothing Smallville-related, or related in any other way to Clark Kent, Superman or any of the various creations of the wonderful folks at DC Comics. The X-Files was created by Chris Carter and belongs to 20th Century Fox and Ten Thirteen Productions.  
  
A/N: 1. I'm aiming for 1000-ish words per ep. Longer eps will be, of course, multipart eps. 2. In our reality, the Wichita Watch Factory () was built circa. 1888, but never manufactured any watches. The economic boom that Wichita was experiencing ended, and the company folded. That is, of course, not what happened in the SVF universe.  
  
========  
  
_We pick up where Episode 1 left off_  
  
There was a long silence, during which Clark berated himself for his answer, _Why did I tell him I'm gay? Might as well have told him that I resisted her because it's just one of about a zillion bizarre things I'm capable of doing. That's the truth, too._  
  
The look of unease passed from Lex's face, then, and he said, "We should probably get back to what I was going to do yesterday, before Mrs. Rosenberg decided to play her little mind games with her husband and Mr. Drescher."  
  
"Which was?"  
  
Lex took a folder from his desk and handed it to Clark. "A figure resembling the Mothman has been seen in Wichita."  
  
Clark didn't believe it. "The Mothman. Like that movie with Richard Gere."  
  
"Seen it?"  
  
Clark shook his head dismissively.  
  
Lex perched on the edge of his desk and began, "The movie was fictionalized, but it was based on real events. In 1966, the people of Point Pleasant, West Virginia, began to see a creature. A mothman. Seven to nine feet tall, with wings and glowing red eyes. The bridge in town collapsed about a year later, in 1967. The mothman may not have ever been seen again."  
  
"*May* not?"  
  
"Well, there are rumors that it's still around somewhere, but the prevailing theory is that it was predicting the collapse of the bridge and went away after it happened."  
  
"Like the Delphic Oracle? With red eyes and wings?" Clark chuckled.  
  
"Or the force of entropy given humanoid form," Lex countered, "considering the bridge collapsed from metal fatigue."  
  
Clark looked unimpressed.  
  
Lex stood and took the file back from Clark, placing it in his briefcase. Together, they walked from the office. "Anyway, there have been similar sightings in Wichita, and we're being sent to investigate."  
  
"So, you're going to take the Douglas Street Bridge, and I'll take the Lewis Street Bridge and we'll just wait for it to collapse?"  
  
Lex responded with exaggerated patience, "we're going to interview the major witness and see if the Bug Boy has made any specific predictions."  
  
"Bug Boy?"  
  
"Well, he's not as tall as the Mothman, so local cryptozoologists have named him Bug Boy."  
  
Clark wasn't convinced. "Mm-*hmm,*" he responded as they stepped out into the morning sunshine.  
  
***  
  
Two hours later, Lex pulled up to the resident directory of an apartment complex and pressed a couple of buttons.   
  
Clark heard a phone ringing, then a woman's voice answer, "Hello?"  
  
"Ms. Stevens?"  
  
"Yes?"  
  
"This is Lex Luthor and Clark Kent from the KBI. We're here to talk to you about the . . ."  
  
"Just a minute. I'm in 335," she interrupted him.  
  
They heard a buzzing sound and then the security gate slid open.  
  
Lex drove to Building 3 and they walked up the three flights to the third floor, where a young brunette in a fuzzy pink robe waited in the breezeway.   
  
"Ms. Stevens?" Lex asked as they flashed their badges.  
  
She nodded. "Call me Kate."  
  
She ushered them into her apartment and Lex leapt right in with, "It's my understanding that you've seen this Bug Boy around?"   
  
"Well, I don't know if I've seen it around, but I've seen it regularly."  
  
"How do you mean that?"  
  
Kate indicated the large picture window, where the two men could see a large limestone building with a round Queen Anne-style tower at the near end. "It comes out of the old watch factory every night at sunset."  
  
Clark wondered if he could get away with teasing Lex about giant vampire moths, but decided he'd better keep up a professional front in front of the witness.  
  
Later, as they got into Lex's car, Lex said, "I don't want to hear about it."  
  
"What?"  
  
"You were going to make some crack about vampire moths, weren't you."  
  
Not having a response to that besides, _Yep. Sure was,_ Clark got into the car.  
  
They pulled into the vacant employee parking lot of the watch factory. Lex said, "The mothman is an intangible force. We aren't going to find anything."  
  
Clark climbed out of the car. "Okay. You go back to the Wichita field office and I'll call you if I find anything."  
  
Lex sighed and looked at him levelly.  
  
"You're welcome to join me, but I'm going in."  
  
Lex followed, as Clark would have bet he would.  
  
They hadn't been inside the factory long when they heard the rustle of wings, followed by the _thump_ of feet hitting the wooden floor behind them.  
  
They turned around and came face-to-face with a huge moth -- wings, feathery-looking antennae and all.  
  
"Still think it's a psychic entropy force or whatever, Lex?" Clark asked, never taking his eyes from the moth. He tried to judge how quickly he could move without letting his partner know that he was a freak.  
  
As he slowly advanced on the creature, it squeaked and turned its attention toward him, its eyes glowing an unearthly green in the darkness.  
  
"Lex, I --" Clark felt weaker and sicker than he had since he was a child. He wandered over to one side, searching for a safe place to throw up.  
  
As he began to list to one side, the moth creature took off running. Lex followed.  
  
Clark just started getting his strength back as he heard Lex yell, "FBI! Freeze!" Then two shots.  
  
Lex, talking into his cell phone, jogged back a few seconds later, "and I'll need two ambulances. Cancel that. Well, cancel one of the ambulances. The suspect is still down, but Kent's back up."  
  
He hung up and came to Clark's side. "You all right?"  
  
"Yeah. I'm fine."  
  
"You still look a little green around the gills."  
  
Clark snapped, "I'm fine." He cringed, knowing it was fear of the sudden illness that caused him to be so sharp with his partner.  
  
Lex and Clark returned to where Lex downed the moth creature. The sound of the ambulance siren grew louder as it approached. They turned the final corner to find a large puddle of blood.   
  
The creature was nowhere to be found.  
  
***  
  
"Let me get this straight," Assistant Director Prince leaned forward, peering at the two men through her wire-frame glasses. "It was gone."  
  
"Yes, ma'am." Lex replied solemnly.  
  
"And you've concluded that it's . . . "  
  
"Real."  
  
"A projection of the force of entropy."   
  
The two agents answered at once.  
  
A.D. Prince pinched the bridge of her nose like she was getting a headache, "Thank you, that'll be all."  
  
As they left, Clark heard the sound of A.D. Prince buzzing her secretary for some aspirin. 


	3. Episode 103

Title: The SV-Files, Episode 103  
Author: PepperjackCandy  
Rating: PG  
Category: AU/Futurefic/Science Fiction/Action/Drama  
  
Disclaimer: I own nothing Smallville-related, or related in any other way to Clark Kent, Superman or any of the various creations of the wonderful folks at DC Comics. The X-Files was created by Chris Carter and belongs to 20th Century Fox and Ten Thirteen Productions.  
  
========  
  
"Agent Luthor?" The tall, sandy-haired man in the doorway asked.  
  
Lex nodded. "Special Agent Luthor," he corrected him.  
  
"Special Agent, then." The sandy-haired man nodded, cracking the tiniest bit of a smile.  
  
"How can we help you?" Lex indicated the one guest chair they could squeeze into the office, "Have a seat."  
  
The man sat.  
  
"This is my partner, Special Agent Kent. You still haven't told us your name, though."  
  
"Smith. Matt Smith."  
  
"So how can we help you, Mr. Smith?"   
  
"I think I have reason to fear for my life."  
  
Lex scoffed, "We're hardly a personal security firm, here, Mr. Smith."  
  
"Yes, but rumor is you do have an interest in aliens."  
  
This got Lex's attention. "Aliens?"  
  
"Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, not real aliens, Special Agent Luthor." He sighed and pulled a small tape out of his pocket, "this will explain my situation."  
  
Minutes later, Clark had procured a tape recorder from somewhere, and they listened to the tape.  
  
_Beep._ "I know what you are, Smith." **Click.**   
  
_Beep._ "I know where you're from, Smith." **Click.**  
  
_Beep._ "I've seen you, Smith. I've seen your soulless eyes." **Click.**  
  
This gave Lex a real jolt; he reached forward, snapping the tape recorder off. "I think that's enough. Does it ever progress beyond this sort of thing?"  
  
"Progress to what?"  
  
"Outright threats. At this point it sounds like that old joke about the guy getting a phone call saying 'the viper is coming,'" Lex hoped he didn't sound as off-balance as he felt; he feared he did and that Clark picked up on it.  
  
"No. It's just more of this."  
  
"You have caller ID?"  
  
"Yes, but this guy appears to be using something to foil it. We can't get any kind of reading on it at all."  
  
"Luthor," Clark said, "Why don't I take this down to the lab and we can see if we can pick up any kind of background sounds?"  
  
Lex nodded and handed the tape to his partner.   
  
After Clark left, Lex continued his questioning. "When did these calls come in?"  
  
"I get a call on my cell phone every Wednesday at 11:15 in the morning."  
  
"Precisely at 11:15?"  
  
"On the dot."  
  
"What do you do for a living, Mr. Smith?"  
  
"I'm a car salesman. I work for Lozano Ford, in Lawrence."  
  
The questioning went on for some time like this, and soon, Clark returned, two tapes in his hand.  
  
"Gordon found something that I think will definitely help us." He handed one of the tapes to Lex, who put it in the player.  
  
"This first one will be from the background of your second message," Clark said.  
  
They heard, "Duncan, you have a call on line 1," come from the tape recorder.  
  
"And the fifth," Clark continued.  
  
"Jamison, you have a call on line 2."  
  
"And the tenth."  
  
"Perry, you have a visitor at the service desk."  
  
Smith's eyes widened, "I know those names. They all work at my car dealership."  
  
"What buildings are near your dealership?" Lex asked, pulling a pad of paper from his desk.  
  
"Let's see. To the north is an office building, to the south is an adult bookstore, and behind the building, which is to the west, is an apartment complex."  
  
Lex stood, fishing his car keys from his pocket, "I guess we're going to Lawrence." He lowered his voice so only Clark could hear, "Good thing we get reimbursed for mileage."  
  
***  
  
They watched Matt go back into the dealership, then Lex turned to Clark. "I'll take the adult video store, you take the rental office, see if they have any security cameras pointed back towards the dealership."  
  
Clark looked like he was going to argue, but then he stood, "See you in the office building?"  
  
"Yeah."   
Lex got out of the car, beeped on the alarm, and headed for the small, windowless building with only the words, _Adult Video_ on the front in red letters.  
  
Inside, it looked like any other run-down video rental store. The only difference was that instead of Bruce Willis and Gwyneth Paltrow, breasts, buttocks, and other portions of personal anatomy looked back at him from the boxes.  
  
He approached the counter and, grimacing at the dirt on it, gingerly leaned on the counter, "Luthor, KBI," he said simply, pulling out his badge.  
  
"Look, man, we're not doing anything illegal . . ."  
  
"I'm just here to see if you have any security cameras that point out towards Lozano Ford."  
  
"Yeah. We have one."  
  
"And do you have any tapes left from last week, say, Wednesday?"  
  
"I think so. You lookin' for anything in particular?"  
  
"11:15 a.m. Other than that, I'll know it when I see it."  
  
Minutes later, Lex sat in front of the monitor, watching an indistinct human figure talking into either his hand or a cell phone.   
  
"That's what I'm looking for. May I take this tape with me to Topeka, or do you have some way to make a copy?"  
  
When he reconnected with Clark, he was carrying a video tape in his hand. "I think I have what we need."  
  
"Good. The security cameras at the apartment complex had nothing."  
  
"Well, this tape has someone who's certainly holding his hand to his face. He may be on a cell phone. I was hoping that since you're in with Gordon, you could take it down there and see if she can clean it up."  
  
***  
  
The redhead turned to face them as the door opened, "Luthor." Her eyes brightened considerably, "Kent!"  
  
A sharp pang of jealousy made Lex want to slap her.  
  
"Hi, Agent Gordon. We've got a videotape here and were wondering if you could clean up the image some," Clark asked with a charming smile.  
  
"Sure." She took the tape from him, "When do you need it?"  
  
"Soon." Lex interrupted. "We've got to be able to catch this guy tomorrow morning at 11:15. In Lawrence."  
  
"Well, then I'll see what I can do," this was directed at Clark alone. As was the smile on her face.  
  
Half an hour later, she said, "This is the best I can manage."  
  
The figure on the tape was definitely male. He was holding a cell phone, but between his position relative to the camera and the phone in front of his face, all they could clearly make out was a widows-peak hairline, and that he didn't wear glasses.  
  
"We'll have to make do with this," Lex sighed as he took the printout of the image that Gordon made for them.  
  
"It's great, thanks," Clark said hurriedly as he followed Lex from the room.  
  
***  
  
11:15 the next morning found the two agents in Clark's car in the parking lot of the adult video store. Clark had put his foot down, saying that Lex's Porsche would be too conspicuous.   
  
Nevertheless, Lex had still driven.  
  
As they watched, a beaten up blue Dodge pulled into the parking lot and a young man with shockingly red hair stepped out into the parking lot.  
  
They waited as he pulled out his cell phone, then sprung into action.  
  
"Freeze! KBI!" Lex yelled as he and Clark pulled their guns, training them on the young man.  
  
His hands went immediately into the air, the phone landing on the ground and skittering away.  
  
The young man turned out to be a kid, no older than 20. Two plainclothes police came out of the video store and cuffed him, reading him his rights.  
  
Lex picked up the phone and ascertained that the number the kid had dialed was Matt Smith's cell phone. He gave the phone to the officers and then, assured that the police had it under control, left to speak with Smith.  
  
~~~  
  
"We got him," Clark said as they met up with the car salesman.  
  
Smith breathed a sigh of relief. "So the calls will stop now?"   
Lex nodded. "You'll need to contact the district attorney's office for a court order. If he violates the court order, he'll probably be up for jail time."  
  
Smith nodded, "Thank you for all of your help."  
  
***  
  
Three days later, Lex was walking into his office when A.D. Prince's secretary stopped him in the hallway. "Special Agent Luthor. I'm so glad I caught up to you. Assistant Director Prince asked me to give his to you."  
  
Lex opened the envelope and sighed as he looked at the photos inside. He walked into the office and dropped them on Clark's desk.   
  
_Olsen, James Bartholomew,_ the caption read. They were crime scene photos.  
  
"He's dead?" Clark asked.  
  
Lex nodded, "A promising young photojournalist turns stalker, then is murdered."  
  
Lex joined Clark in silently looking at the photos, wondering what this new development portended.   



	4. Episode 104

Title: The SV-Files, Episode 104  
Author: PepperjackCandy  
Rating: PG  
Category: AU/Futurefic/Science Fiction/Action/Drama  
Spoilers for: Zero  
  
Disclaimer: I own nothing Smallville-related, or related in any other way to Clark Kent, Superman or any of the various creations of the wonderful folks at DC Comics. The X-Files was created by Chris Carter and belongs to 20th Century Fox and Ten Thirteen Productions.  
  
========  
  
Lex and Clark sat outside the FirstBank on Kansas Avenue, quietly eating their burgers and fries.  
  
"You're sure this is the bank the . . . phantom bandit," Clark snorted at the nickname, "is going to hit next?"  
  
Lex nodded as he took a long pull of his soft drink. "It's the only one that makes sense. The burglar is working his way eastward across Kansas, only hitting towns with a population above 20,000; he breaks into the bank closest to downtown, staying away from the national chains."  
  
Clark digested this in silence.   
  
"Why'd you become an agent?" Clark asked suddenly.  
  
"It was a week before my 18th birthday. I was young, stupid, thought I knew everything. Anyway, there was a girl. A woman, really. Amanda. I thought I loved her; she was engaged to a real piece of work named Jude Royce.   
  
"Jude told her that he was going out of town on business. He actually stayed in Metropolis, doing 'business' with a couple of hookers he knew at a club called Zero.  
  
"I knew where he was and what he was up to, so I took Amanda out for the evening, to Zero. As I'd planned, she saw Jude with the hookers, and all hell broke loose. Jude pulled a knife and stabbed me; Amanda got hold of the bouncer's gun, and . . . ."  
  
Clark waited with bated breath for Lex to continue.  
  
"I disarmed her. I didn't have any idea how I'd done it; I couldn't even move my left arm; you know that I'm left-handed. But somehow, I grabbed the gun from her hand with my non-dominant hand.  
  
"I couldn't get over it. The rush of stopping someone, even scum like Royce, from being hurt. I changed my major to criminal justice, against my father's wishes, and after college I went to Quantico, to join the FBI. After graduating from the Academy, I heard about an opening with the KBI, and here I am.   
  
"How about you?"  
  
"Well, it all started with Jim Valenti. He was Lincoln County Sheriff . . ."  
  
"I thought that was Pat Garret," Lex interrupted.  
  
Clark grinned at the quip, "Lincoln County, Nebraska, not New Mexico, and in the 21st century, not the 19th. Anyway, he sort of took me under his wing, taught me how to fire a gun . . ."  
  
Clark stopped when Lex sat forward in his seat, his gaze fixed on the bank. "Showtime," his bald partner grinned at him.  
  
Clark and Lex hurried up the steps to the bank, pushing the unlocked door open as quietly as they could. The burglar stood in front of the vault door, which was bathed in a faint green light.   
  
Lex drew his gun, but Clark, unarmed, stalked up behind the man, blond, and younger than he had expected him to be. Not any older than Clark himself. Not much older, anyway. Hoping that he wouldn't give away his gifts to the perpetrator, or to Lex, come to that, he used a quick judo throw on the young man, flipping him onto his stomach and twisting one arm up behind him.  
  
The same queasiness that he'd felt in the watch factory when facing the Bug Boy hit again. It took all of his martial arts skill and discipline to fight it.  
  
Lex ran up out of the shadows, pulling his gun on the hapless villain as a very relieved Clark stood. Moments later, the police streamed in. They handcuffed the burglar as they read him his rights.  
  
"Neat move," Lex said admiringly.  
  
"Jim, Sheriff Valenti, was my sensei, too."  
  
"He taught you well."  
  
"I moonlight as a ninja assassin," Clark joked.  
  
"And a very successful one, I'll bet."   
  
The next morning, they were in Assistant Director Prince's office, "Last night's mystery man was Whitney Fordman," she slid a file across the desk to the two agents.  
  
As Clark watched Lex flip through the pages, Prince continued, "former Marine turned small-time crook. He apparently thought bank robbery was the way to easy street.  
  
"His attorney has advised him to take a plea. Six months followed by five years on parole."  
  
"Six months!?!" Lex burst out.  
  
"That's a slap on the wrist!" Clark responded simultaneously.  
  
Prince shook her head, "His record is clean of violent crime. The State wants to give him a second chance."  
  
They got another couple of updates, then took their leave.  
  
As they walked down the hallway, Clark stretched his hearing out and heard her pick up the phone. "I told them. No. They were not happy with the news." Then, bitterly, "But they'll just have to learn to live with disappointment, won't they?"  
  
His attention was jerked back when Lex spoke to him, "Sorry?" He asked, having missed what Lex said.  
  
"I asked," Lex asked patiently, "if you want to stop by the coffee room on our way back to the office."  
  
Clark nodded his assent, and tuned back into Prince's office, but she was talking about something else, and he was left wondering who she had been talking to.  



	5. Episode 105

Title: The SV-Files, Episode 105  
Author: PepperjackCandy  
Rating: PG  
Category: AU/Futurefic/Science Fiction/Action/Drama  
  
Disclaimer: I own nothing Smallville-related, or related in any other way to Clark Kent, Superman or any of the various creations of the wonderful folks at DC Comics. The X-Files was created by Chris Carter and belongs to 20th Century Fox and Ten Thirteen Productions.  
  
========  
  
Lex arrived at the crime scene, flashing his badge for the officers on duty. "Luthor. KBI."  
  
The officer moved out of the way, and Lex stepped into the apartment, where he found Clark in deep discussion with Barry Allen, of the Metropolis Police Department's forensics unit.  
  
"Kent. Allen." Lex greeted them brusquely. He pulled Clark aside and asked, "Why are we here? This seems a routine enough murder, and they've already got Allen on the case."  
  
Clark gestured towards the body, which Lex couldn't see clearly from where he was standing.  
  
They walked closer to it, and only his seven years' experience with the Kansas Bureau of Investigations kept him from retching at the sight of the corpse. Its head was nearly obliterated.  
  
"Because apparently this guy bashed in his own head with a blunt object."  
  
Lex quirked an eyebrow upwards, "His own head?"  
  
"He's the only person seen coming into or leaving the apartment. All visitors are required to register, but all visitors have been accounted for."  
  
"Couldn't someone have sneaked into the building?"  
  
Clark shook his head, "Apparently, the victim, Stiller, was very worried about his safety. Security's like Fort Knox around here. The only other entrance is the residents' entrance, which is protected by a fingerprint reader and a video camera. Both show that Mr. Stiller came home at the usual time. Alone."  
  
"A locked room mystery. How intriguing," Lex said quietly, almost to himself.  
  
"I'm pretty sure the murder weapon was the right-hand bookend," Clark pointed to a pair of heavy-looking stone Chinese lion bookends on the book shelf. "The murderer probably washed the blood off of it and put it back."  
  
Lex eyed the bookends dubiously.  
  
"Trust him," Barry said over his shoulder as he passed by.  
  
Lex made eye contact with Allen.  
  
"We didn't call him 'Spooky' for nothing."  
  
Lex looked back at Clark, who blushed.  
  
Distracted by how cute Clark was when he blushed, Lex nearly tripped over an end table. He collected himself as best he could and walked agilely the rest of the way to the bookshelves. He slipped on a pair of latex gloves, then lifted the bookend up. "Have someone dust this for prints and examine it for blood," he said, handing it to a passing police officer.  
  
They left soon after that, and as they stepped out into the hallway, Lex asked, with humor, "Spooky?"  
  
***  
  
They returned to their office and began to work on paperwork.   
  
After they returned from lunch, Clark's e-mail beeped. "It's from Barry Allen. Crime scene photos," he said, "you want me to forward them to you, too?"  
  
"Sure."  
  
As soon as he received it, Lex opened the attachment and selected a photo of the sitting area in the living room. Something seemed off about it to him, but he couldn't place it. He heard Clark say something about fingerprints. "Huh?"  
  
"I said, that Barry ran tests on the bookend. Sure enough, blood showed up under the black light, and they found partial fingerprints on the bookend, too."  
  
"Stiller's?"  
  
"Stiller's index finger, yeah. But what they can see of the rest of the fingerprints doesn't match."  
  
"The right hand?"  
  
Clark nodded.   
  
"So we have a right-handed killer with one of the same fingerprints as the victim. I guess fingerprints aren't like snowflakes after all."  
  
"What about you?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"What are you staring at?"  
  
"This. The end table there," Lex turned his monitor towards Clark and pointed, "doesn't fit."  
  
"You're criticizing the victim's taste in furniture?"  
  
"No. Just . . . there are three of them. Who buys three end tables?"  
  
"Someone with three chairs?"  
  
Lex wasn't convinced, "I guess . . . ."   
  
Finally, he couldn't take it anymore. He stood, pulling his cell phone out of his pocket and beginning to dial the Metropolis Police Department number. "Come on," he said.  
  
"Where are we going?"  
  
"Back to Stiller's apartment."  
  
***  
  
Turns out they didn't need the police officer to let them back into Stiller's apartment. The door was standing wide open.  
  
And there were only two end tables. 


End file.
